Harvest Time!

Spring wheat harvest is in full swing! I have learned to like this time of year, which I used to absolutely dread. As a newlywed with no children, these weeks of wheat harvest were lonely and seemed endless. I didn't dislike the soybeans and corn later in the year so much since I was teaching, but wheat--all wheat had going for it was that it was pretty as it waved in the wind.
I think my attitude changed around the time I realized harvest does not mean "two or three weeks of not seeing my husband," but rather, "our paycheck for many months of hard work." That is, of course, if God grants us something to harvest. A sign on our nearby highway recently read, "Man plants; God grants." This is so true. There are so many things that have to work together for a crop to grow, that I see God's influence at every step of the growing process. There have been years when we have had poor crops due to drought or hail and have had very little to harvest. As in all things, these years keep us appreciating the bountiful harvests when we are blessed with them.
When all yield monitors, GPS systems, augers, headers, etc., etc., etc. are working properly, things go very well. The boys take turns helping Grandpa, who is usually driving the combine. Next they prefer Grandma, who runs the grain cart and usually has fruit snacks or Smarties for them. Third choice is Dad, who is currently driving the wheat from the field to the grain bin. Last choice, which is what Teresa gets to do, is staying home with me--the cook.
Because we farm land at different points within the twenty miles between our farms, my mother-in-law and I used to have the system that when they were harvesting their land, she would handle meals and lunches and I would feed everyone on our land. Last year we decided that since Denise is now needed in the field and some of their land is only a few miles away from our house, I would be the full time cook during harvest. Of all the jobs, this would be my first choice. I love to cook and preparing larger meals for a few weeks is always a fun and creative challenge.
Now, allow me to explain the Melius family "lunch."
Lunches are the highlight of harvest and a big tradition in the Melius family. The mandatory ingredients are bologna on white bread, a quart jar filled with Schwan's vanilla ice cream tucked in beside a cold can of Pepsi and a long handled spoon. Various fillers of chips, fruit, cookies, and candy are welcomed, but not as coveted as the first requirements. Because I didn't have much experience in this, I thought all harvesters got these lunches. I have learned since that this is not the case. A few wives have told me, "Don't let my husband know that yours gets an ice cream float every day!" I did not start the spoiling of them. I am just a carrier of the torch.
Harvest lunches, of which I also used to fail to see the point, have become a welcome break in my day. It is the time when the boys either go out to help or come home from a day in the field. It is when Teresa can get her tractor or truck ride so she can be just like her brothers. It is especially nice when everyone can stop working and sit down to eat together at the edge of the field. All of our kids now each get their own scoop of ice cream in a pint jar with a splash of Pepsi from Grandpa & Dad.
Thankfully, as the years have passed and children have arrived, harvest has become more of a time of togetherness for our family. David mentioned that some families go through great lengths to spend time together. Farming keeps us all working together and depending on each other to reach a common goal. We cannot help but spend time together especially at harvest time.
That is not a bad thing at all. And neither is a Pepsi float on a hot August day.